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Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional and therefore cannot prescribe, treat, or diagnose. I’m a mom and holistic health coach sharing my knowledge and experiences for educational purposes. This does not take the place of any professional medical advice.
The pile of sugary treats accumulated on Halloween night is often a parent’s nightmare. Most candies are laden with sugar, artificial colors, and preservatives, contributing to a host of health issues including obesity, hyperactivity, and a burdened immune system going into the holiday season.
Both the American Heart Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children consume no more than 25 grams of added sugar per day, yet a single Halloween haul can surpass this limit many times over.
For health-conscious moms, these concerns are valid and pressing. The challenge lies in balancing the joy of Halloween with maintaining healthy dietary habits for our children. The traditional candy-centric approach can be swapped with better alternatives that align with your values as a mom.
By the way, I got this idea from this book which I highly recommend!
There are a couple different ways you can go about this, and either way the idea is simple: kids give up their candy haul to be swapped with healthier goodies!
The Switch Witch can be made into whatever you want it to be.
This could be another version of Santa Claus if that’s your family tradition. The kids could leave out their candy on Halloween night, and find their new surprises in the morning.
You could also make it a fun tradition to look forward to when you get home from trick or treating! Dump out all the candy, and swap it right away for the goodies! This is what I’m planning to do.
You could even turn it into some kind of game where each piece of candy is worth a certain amount of money, and they choose which new goodies they want to ‘buy’ with them! This could be super fun for older kids!
So what do you swap out with? There are “healthier” candy companies like YumEarth you can find at your local health food store or my favorite online organic grocery store. You can also give your kids toys, books, games, or something they’ve been wanting.
Trying to figure out what to hand out on Halloween? In case you missed it, I also wrote a blog on 20 Spooky Swaps for Sugar. Enjoy!
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xo, Mary